A Joint Resolution designating August 29, 2017 as Governor James Florio
Day in the State of New Jersey.

Whereas,
The Honorable James J. Florio, the 49th Governor of this State, was born on
August 29, 1937 in Brooklyn, the oldest of three sons to Vincenzo "Jim" and
Lillian Florio, moved as a child to Flatbush near Ebbets Field, became a Dodger
and Pete Reiser fan, and developed an interest in the sport of boxing; and

Whereas,
At the age of 17, Governor Florio enlisted in the Navy, served from 1955 to
1958, and then served in the Naval Reserve until 1975 and retired with the rank
of Lieutenant Commander; and

Whereas,
While in the Navy, Governor Florio received his high school equivalency
diploma, and boxed as a middleweight, compiling a 12-3 record before retiring,
and was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990; and

Whereas,
Governor Florio enrolled at Trenton State College upon his discharge in 1958,
graduating magna cum laude, went on to study public law and government at
Columbia University after winning a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, and received a
law degree from Rutgers School of Law-Camden in 1967 and was admitted to the
State bar; and

Whereas,
Governor Florio began his career in public service as the assistant city attorney
for the City of Camden, and was later solicitor for the towns of Runnemede,
Woodlynne, and Summerdale; and

Whereas,
Governor Florio was elected to the General Assembly in 1969 and twice
re-elected, first from the First Legislative District then the Fifth
Legislative District, which covered parts of Camden and Gloucester counties,
and served on the State Government and the Federal and Interstate Relations
Committees; and

Whereas,
Governor Florio was elected to the United States House of Representatives from
this State's First Congressional District in November 1974 and served until
January 16, 1990; and

Whereas,
In Congress, Governor Florio was best known as the author of the Superfund
legislation, designed to clean up toxic waste sites and penalize those
responsible for the pollution and require such responsible parties to pay for
its cleanup, and he was the author of the Railroad Deregulation Law, which
saved from bankruptcy the nation's freight railroads, including Conrail; and

Whereas,
Mr. Florio was elected to the governorship on November 7, 1989, and made his
first priority automobile insurance reform, calling a special session of the Legislature
six days after his inauguration to consider a series of changes to existing
law, and on March 12, 1990 he signed into law a program designed to reduce premiums
for most drivers by 20 percent; and

Whereas,
During his term in office, Governor Florio accomplished signing into law the
Clean Water Enforcement Act (1990), which was the strongest environmental law
of its type in the United States, the Quality Education Act, which provided
greater equity in New Jersey's school finance system, a landmark welfare reform
package, and the nation's toughest assault weapons ban; and

Whereas,
After leaving office as Governor, Governor Florio, with his wife Lucinda, moved
to Metuchen and went into private practice as an attorney, served as Chair of
the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, became a Senior Fellow for Public Policy
and Administration at the Edward J. Bloustein Graduate School of Public Policy
at Rutgers University, was appointed to the board of directors of NJ Future,
became Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank in New
York, and in 2014 was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame; and

Whereas,
Governor Florio holds numerous honorary degrees, was the 1993 recipient of the
"Profile in Courage Award" bestowed by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation,
and in 2008, was designated a Lifetime Honoree Member of the New Jersey Short
Line Railroad Association; and

Whereas,
Through the years, Governor Florio has been blessed by the love and support of
his children and grandchildren, including his son Christopher and
daughter-in-law Helen, his daughter Catherine Pipas and son-in-law Marc and
their daughters Stephanie and Victoria, his son Gregory and daughter-in-law Ann
and their children Matthew, Alexandra, Chelsea, Elizabeth, and Peter, and by
his wife Lucinda's son Mark Rowe and daughter-in-law Shelly and their sons
Jack, Bret, and Troy; and

Whereas,
Given his record of achievement and service to this State and to the nation, it
is fitting and proper that the State of New Jersey honor Governor Florio by
designating August 29, 2017 as Governor James Florio Day in New Jersey; now,
therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New
Jersey:

1. August 29, 2017 is designated as Governor James
Florio Day in the State of New Jersey in recognition of his many outstanding
contributions to this State and the nation.

2. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This Joint Resolution designates August 29, 2017 as
Governor James Florio Day in the State of New Jersey, in recognition of his
many outstanding contributions to this State and the nation.

Designates August 29, 2017 as Governor James Florio Day
in New Jersey.